Revue Magazine June 2022

Guatemala’s English-language Magazine JUNE 2022

revuemag.com Year 31 No. 4

Adventures in Guatemala

T H IS M O N T H I N R EV U E From the Publishers

On the Cover “Chixoy River Expedition”

by Greg Schwendinger

PHOTO CONTEST

Theme for July, 2022 “Portraits of Guatemala” click for details

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Paradise in the Clouds of Quiché

by Philip D. Tanimoto, Ph.D.

One hundred kilometers north of La Antigua Guatemala, away from the noise and traffic of city life, in the department of Quiché, there is a remote mountain called Cerro Amay that is covered with a dripping, virgin cloud forest. With an abundance of wild resplendent Quetzals, two species of endangered monkeys and thousands of limestone caves, how is it that you’ve never heard of it before? ...page 42

Allegro to Guatemala An Expatriate Journey Through the Land of Eternal Spring

by Mark D. Walker

Most of the more than 6,000 U.S. expatriates who live in Guatemala have a distinct way of appreciating and expressing their love for Guatemala. I met poet Earl Vincent de Berge and his wife, Suzanne, over lunch ...page 68

Las Conchas Waterfalls Hidden Treasures of Alta Verapaz text/photos by Capt. Thor Janson

Las Conchas is the translation of the place name Se Pemech (The Snails) in the local Q’eqchi’ Mayan language and refers to the many piles and deposits of mollusk shells found near the falls.

The abundant, edible snails have been an attraction for the local indigenous population for countless generations. ...page 58

Places to go, things to do and fun to be had...

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Restaurant Cerro San Cristobal, La Antigua

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Filadelfia Coffee Tour in Antigua

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from the publishers

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dventure, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. For some, nothing less than hiking an active volcano will do, while others find adventure in getting a great deal while shopping in the mercado and learning a bit more about another culture. Whatever is on your list of to-do adventures, you can pursue many of them in Guatemala. So no surprise, in this month’s issue of Revue the Photo Contest theme is Adventures in Guatemala and we received some great images that we happily share.

Paradise in the Clouds of Quiché is an eye-opening article by Philip D. Tanimoto, Ph.D. focusing on a remote mountain called Cerro Amay. His non-profit group and many others have been toiling to maintain the ecosystem of this virgin cloud forest and its residents of Quetzals and monkeys and the thousands of limestone caves.

In the Cool-places-to-go Department, you should think about visiting Las Conchas Waterfalls, one of the hidden treasures of Alta Verapaz. Dearly departed intrepid explorer and photographer Thor Janson gives us an inside look at this marvel of nature.

Contributing Writer Mark D. Walker introduces us to poet Earl Vincent de Berge and his wife Suzanne. Allegro to Guatemala; An Expatriate Journey Through the Land of Eternal Springs gives us some insight from a poets point of view.

Thanks for reading and have the best June you possibly can.

—Terry & John Kovick Biskovich

revue team Publishers/Editors John & Terry Kovick Biskovich Photography Luis Toribio, César Tián Graphic Designer Hadazul Cruz Contributing Writer Mark D. Walker Webmaster/Social Media JB Systems Luis Juárez, Luis Toribio Publishing Company San Joaquin Producciones, S.A.

2nd Place Popular Vote “Volar” Celajes en Antigua

by Alejandrina Zapet

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1st Place Popular Vote “La magia del Amanecer” Mirador Rostro Maya, San Juan la Laguna, Lago de Atitlán by Luis Andrade

by Juan leonardo Sajbín Tepaz

2nd Place Judges Vote “Los Antonios”

by Oscar Antonio Velasquez Guinea

Honorable Mention “Colazo a Panajachel” Henry Cukier

3rd Place Judges Vote “La vista desde Altamira” Altamira Antigua by Migue Vásquez García

3rd Place Popular Vote “Junto a mi Hijo Daniel Junior” Volcán de Acatenango al fondo volcan de Fuego. by Daniel Iguardia

“Laguna Lachúa” Cobán by Daniel Iguardia

Llegando a la Piedra Mirador Piedra Roja, San Jorge La Laguna, Sololá by Luis Soto 32

“La vida es una aventura / Life is an adventure” Retalhuleu by Liss Hernández

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Paradise

in the Clouds of Quiché

by Philip D. Tanimoto, Ph.D.

Sunrise from Camp Seven

O

ne hundred kilometers north of La Antigua Guatemala, away from the noise and traffic of city life, in the department of Quiché, there is a remote mountain called Cerro Amay that is covered with a dripping, virgin cloud forest. With an abundance of wild resplendent Quetzals, two species of endangered monkeys and thousands of limestone caves, how is it that you’ve never heard of it before?

The story began 6 million years ago.

The North American Tectonic Plate, one of several major plates in the Earth’s crust, was impacted by the north-moving Cocos Plate of the tropics, causing an endless series of earthquakes that lifted the limestone sea floor skyward, and at the same time, united South America with North America, resulting in the creation of Central America. With each successive quake, the mountain was pushed higher and higher,

gray-breasted wood-wren. To this, add the haunting yet stately tree ferns. Then bathe all the trees in an enveloping bank of dense clouds that soaks the forest and starts it dripping, even without rain.

until it reached the clouds—over 2,600 meters (8,530 feet) above sea level.

Once in the cloud zone, abundant mountain rainfall combined with tannic acid from fallen leaves to dissolve the limestone bedrock, creating thousands of unexplored caves. Earthquakes continue today at Cerro Amay, further fracturing the limestone, preventing the formation of lakes. Even streams are rare.

Think of a steaming tropical rainforest, and then cool the temperature way down into the comfort zone. Cover the massive trees with dense layers of moss, bromeliads and ferns. Replace the widespread lowland fauna like jaguars and toucans with species unique to the highlands, such as the resplendent quetzal, emerald toucanet, and the ubiquitous, bubbly songster, the

Bromeliads

This forest is technically called “tropical montane cloud forest.” Although it occurs around the world on tropical mountains, it is rare, comprising less than 2 percent of all forests, and much of it has already been destroyed by humans. But where it survives, it is a crucible for evolution, and species new to science are continually being discovered.

Howler monkeys

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to alter the trajectory of deforestation in Guatemala and to leave something pure and good for future generations of Guatemalans and foreign visitors.

As an ecologist conducting my doctoral research on one of Guatemala’s most iconic birds, the horned guan, I became involved with this mountain paradise in 2005 while analyzing satellite imagery to locate poten-

tial horned guan habitat. As a Pleistocene relic only distantly related to others species in the American tropics, the horned guan lives only in the isolated cloud forests of northern Central America and is classified as endangered due to the disappearance of its cloud forest habitat. The bird and the forest evolved together. Poring over the imagery, I stumbled upon what looked like a spectacular habitat where the horned guan might survive. Using the In-

ternet, I discovered the name of this place, Cerro Amay, but I could find nothing else about it. Querying academic databases, I couldn’t find any research papers about the people, wildlife or natural resources of Cerro Amay, so I endeavored to visit this place on my own.

Philip in the Dragon Cave

In 2007, I arranged with the Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP— the Guatemalan Protected Areas Council) to visit Cerro Amay. After extensive communications via email, they located indig-

enous guides to help me survey the forest for the horned guan, and the search began by climbing steep, slippery trails through the towering forest, often choked with bamboo thickets and blocked by limestone cliffs and sinkholes. Everything was cool, moist and incredibly green. Wild orchids draped the tree trunks. The territorial calls of endangered black howler monkeys reverberated through the forest, and soon, we saw them in the towering treetops while brilliant garnet-throated hummingbirds zipped past us.

At night, we camped in the wilderness under a plastic tarp to stay dry, and in the night, listened to the calls of animals such as the cacomistle, a distant relative of the raccoon, and a puma, or mountain lion, that was screaming nearby. We woke to the dipping and flutey mating call of the male resplendent quetzal, and the crystalline, descending call of the guardabarranca— the brown-backed nightingale thrush. To me, it was clear that before my eyes was a world-class ecosystem that had gone completely unrecognized by any scientific or governmental body. Each day this treasure survived intact was a near miracle, and if not protected, this enchanted forest would disappear forever.

On our way in, at the edge of the forest, we encountered a fresh road being bull

remarkable event that swept my life in a new direction. For the wildlife that lived here; for the ecological services provided by a pristine ecosystem; and for the enjoyment of future visitors, I decided to try to secure the complete preservation of Cerro Amay—to make it into a permanent nature preserve.

In the seven years since then, my colleague, Elias Barrera, and I have done everything we can think of to try to protect Cerro Amay. With few resources, we have been spreading the word about this special place. We have talked with government officials and worked with local communities to try to stop illegal logging. We have been implementing sustainable development projects to stimulate new economic activity in poor, indigenous villages.

Going up

dozed across a steep escarpment, without care to the environment, leaving a muddy, eroding mess behind it. We worked our way sadly past the noisy machine and its operator. In the years that followed, the greater threat to the ecosystem that this road posed would be realized. But for now, finding this undiscovered paradise was a

In the Canopy

Adventure group

We have made presentations to international conservation organizations, and we have been writing grant proposals to international foundations to promote and protect this place. Over the last year, we have implemented a set of automatic trail cameras that have been capturing a spectrum of wildlife photographs, including the secretive brocket deer and the margay—a littleknown spotted cat. We are also engaging with outside scientists, who are coming to Cerro Amay to survey the amphibians, in-

sects and birds. This year, one of these entomologists found two beetle species new to science.

We have established a new eco-tourism program. Over the course of several days, the very first tourists experienced the wonder of the cloud forest wilderness. Seven hardy adventurers from the U.S., each with a vision and a passion for the future of the world, came to learn and experience the cloud forest. They rappelled into the

depths of newly discovered Dragon Cave to see a plethora of beautiful limestone formations.

They ascended into towering oak trees where they tied in safely and relaxed as they gazed out across the magnificent forest while listening to the calls of howler monkeys in the distance. From our Maya guides, they learned about ethnobotany— the use of medicinal and edible forest plants, and afterward, experienced the local hospitality of the highland Maya, including the rejuvenating treatment of the temescal, or Mayan sauna.

Everyone came away with a deep appreciation for the combination of geologic time and isolation that allowed the biodiversity of Cerro Amay to evolve. The trip was so successful that we are planning another trip in the near future.

Despite our progress, this cloud forest is still severely threatened. Illegally cut logs are being trucked out along the poor dirt road we watched being carved into the mountain, and chainsaws can be heard cutting down the cloud forest. Cerro Amay lacks any overarching legal protection, and each year, more forest is cleared to make agricultural fields—fields that will be laboriously worked by poor farmers,

Birds nest Stalagmites

and coaxed into producing only a meager harvest of unending poverty.

So the challenge remains. How in Guatemala can we create a new natural preserve that mimics the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in Costa Rica, which brings in thousands of tourists from around the world and millions of dollars of income, while simultaneously protecting the forest?

There is no blueprint for this process, yet we remain optimistic. We are gaining visibility.

We are bringing in new biologists and new eco-tourists, and we are establishing working, trustful relationships with the indigenous communities around Cerro Amay while helping them to achieve many of their own goals through new, highvalue specialty crops. We envision a slow groundswell of increasing public participa-

Canopy

For more informetion visit tion and ecological awareness, combined with sustainable development and the kind of investment opportunity that has helped lift other areas out of poverty.

One thing is certain. We have a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to alter the trajectory of deforestation in Guatemala and to leave something pure and good for future generations of Guatemalans and foreign visitors.

The Cloud Forest Conservation Initiative website Help us protect the amazing biodiversity of Central America’s Tropical Montane Cloud Forest!

“Amanecer en el Pecul” Volcán Pecul, Quetzaltenango

by Guido De León

3rd Place Popular Vote “Azul Indeleble” Panajachel, Sololá by Lo Reyes

“Linda Vista en las Alturas” Comapa, Jutiapa

by Edwin Yonaél Chávez Martínez

“En Tierras lejanas (turista)” Lago Atitlán, Panajachel by Elfido Gustavo

“Flying High / Volando alto” Laguna Calderas by Francisco Hernandez

Las Conchas Waterfalls Hidden Treasures of Chapinlandia: Alta Verapaz text/photos by Capt. Thor Janson, navigator / explorer, RIP

N

ew highways in Guatemala are opening up to the casual traveler incredibly beautiful, previously little-known locations, now easily accessible for any vehicle in good operational condition.

The road between Raxrulha, Alta Verapaz and San Luis, Petén used to be only for bold travelers in 4×4, high-clearance Jeeps and trucks capable of enduring a lengthy, spine-jarring trek, and even for the intrepid jungle sojourner the road was often impassible in the rainy season.

Now all that has changed and a beautiful new paved highway connects these previously isolated and remote outposts, including access to the spectacular Las Conchas Waterfalls.

A wide variety of birds and other wildlife, including red-eyed tree frogs and a multitude of butterflies, can be seen in the area.

Las Conchas is the translation of the place name Se Pemech (The Snails) in the local Q’eqchi’ Mayan language and refers to the many piles and deposits of mollusk shells found near the falls. The abundant, edible snails have been an attraction for the local indigenous population for countless generations.

Caracolitos

The small shellfish were collected by hand along the banks of the Chiyú River and then roasted on the coals of a campfire making for a delicious, nutritious, free feast. Limestone karst dominates the area, which is full of sinkholes and caves.

Las Conchas Municipal Park comprises a series of spectacular waterfalls, turquoise pools and numerous, diverging rivulets and creeks.

Managed by the town of Chahal, the park received a grant from the Guatemalan tourism ministry (INGUAT) to improve the infrastructure. Most overnight guests camp by the river’s edge, but a few primitive cottages are also available for rent.

A wide variety of birds and other wildlife, including red-eyed tree frogs and a multitude of butterflies, can be seen in the area. If you’re lucky, you might see an arboreal kinkajou or inquisitive coatimundi.

Located 372 kilometers from Guatemala City, the park can be reached via excellent paved roads from Río Dulce or Cobán.

From Río Dulce simply drive north on Route CA-13 toward Poptún.

At the village of Cadenas (a few kilometers before the border with Petén Department) you will see a sign indicating the turnoff for Las Conchas. From there just follow the signs and you will have no trouble finding the park.

An alternative route is to travel to the departmental capital of Cobán and from there drive north to the town of Chisec and on to Raxrulha, where you will see signs indicating the road to Las Conchas.

“Where’s Waldo?” by Thor Janson

“Ritual at Tikal” by Thor Janson

“Cavern Cruising” by Thor Janson

Earl Vincent de Berge and his wife, Suzanne

Allegro to Guatemala: An Expatriate Journey Through the Land of Eternal Spring

M

ost of the more than 6,000 U.S. expatriates who live in Guatemala have a distinct way of appreciating and expressing their love for Guatemala. Several years ago, I met poet Earl Vincent de Berge and his wife, Suzanne, over lunch in Phoe-

by Mark D. Walker

nix. discussing fundraising strategies for Seeds for a Future, a non-governmental organization (NGO) they set up in Guatemala. I soon learned that we shared a love and appreciation for Guatemala and the Desert Southwest and also learned that Earl, too, was a writer, in his case, poetry.

Earl is a native of Arizona. He studied at Antioch College (BA) and the University of Arizona (MA). A political scientist, he founded the Behavior Research Center and created the respected Rocky Mountain Poll, serving as its editor for 35 years.

So, I was surprised to learn that he started writing as far back as 1959. This summer, he is publishing A Finger of Land on an Old Man’s Hand, an autographical novel laced with poetry and photos about his adventures as a young man in the Sonoran deserts of Baja California, Mexico and Arizona. As a high school senior, Earl came across one of the great Chinese poets, Li Po, noted for his elegant romantic verse, which he felt compelled to express to some of the various women in his life. Earl wrote about nature, the environment, cities, and social issues, and his travels through Central America, the Sonoran Desert, and the Andes fueled his imagination. “Everything I experience has potential for a poem— even the increasingly dreadful business of politics.”

In Allegro to Life, Earl’s poems are divided into “Songs from my Life,” “Poems from Guatemala,” and “Desert Songs.”

From the Desert Southwest, the author transports us to the unique, ever moist environs of the rainforest in Guatemala with “Chipi-Chipi:”

CHIPI-CHIPI It is raining/in the way of mist, /just heavy enough /to cling to plants /…too light to dimple the lake…

Chipi-Chipi is the name/Tzutujil speakers/ give to mist rain/ that neither/ starts nor stops/ yet accumulates/like dew/ to drip gently from/ palm fronds. /One senses eternity

The author and his wife split their time between Guatemala and Arizona and have owned a home on Lake Atitlan, but eventually were drawn to Antigua, so I wasn’t surprised to find this enchanting tale of life in the Central Plaza there:

THE CENTRAL PARK RAINBOW

BLIND IN ANTIGUA

The rainbow faces are electric: ... friendly, with gender politics low keyed. ... bored, seeking a conversation. ... amused and sexily attired. ... insistent aloofness. ... contemptuous when noticed. ... strutters on the hunt. ... tourists behind cameras. ... peanut peddlers. ... jewelry and scarf sellers. ... evangelicals preaching damnation. ... children selling gum and cigarettes. ... jugglers and guitarists. ... children with animated minion dolls. ... toddlers with soap-bubble squirt guns. ... small-bag coffee merchants. ... shy Maya families from the countryside. ... cops running off drunks. ... 20s glued to ear-buds. ... old gringos jawing tall tales. ... oblivious lovers. ... and slack faced day dreamers ... they all seem so relaxed.

Girdled by ancient Spanish buildings, / their silent arches like eyes gazing with/ stern conqueror authority into Antigua’s / graceful central park where modern folks/ now stroll, dally, and relax beneath gnarled jacaranda trees in full lavender flower…

In slow waltz, the calm mix of humanity stirs/ in social mingling, a seamless stream that eddies, / and pauses on benches where lovers giggle/ and women chat in clusters, their hands waving/ “oh really!” as they rock back laughing in/ the glow of fresh neighborhood chin-wagging…

A man sits with sad slumped shoulders / one foot raised on the shoeshine boy’s box/ as he reads of war and butchery in the world. / Worried only about future family meals.

A poem Earl wrote on the arm-inarm Sunday sauntering of “muchacha”s brought back fond memories of my participation in this historic tradition.

Antigua’s central plaza is a rainbow of so many curious people that I am guilty of surreptitiously studying many as unobtrusively as an older gent can.

Few will forget the Easter pageantry of “Semana Santa” (Holy Week) in Antigua, expressed so well in the following poem:

leaning into the veil of incense as if watching us gives them understanding of faith.

The crowd fades to silhouettes — then into nothing as the rhythm and sway of we eighty pulls me back into Jesus and his love.

The author’s Guatemalan wife, Ligia, with their oldest daughter, Michelle, with young Guatemalan girls in the Central Park of Antigua.

Earl then deftly takes us from the enchanting world of Antigua to Guatemala’s troubled, violent past during the civil war in the 1980s.

GOOD FRIDAY ANTIGUA I imagine myself hefting the huge anda – leaning into the swirl of blue incense, my hand, white gloved at my cheek lifting in lock step with eighty men the weight of Jesus bearing the cross, my mind on this day of His passion — my day of repentance and devotion.

Approaching the central cathedral, walking over alfombras of flowered devotion, cucuruchos guard our path against gawking tourists, clicking cameras, patronizing grins, uncovered heads and I love New York T-shirts.

Incense cleanses the air, blurs my view of tourist faces

More than 200,000 Guatemalans were displaced or killed during the violent civil war.

CESSPOOL BRAIN Imagine, /if you can, the cesspool brain/ of the Guatemalan army colonel/ who ordered the murder/ of hundreds of indigenous/ civilians and their burial/ in his army’s latrine pits.

Imagine again/ if you can, / him walking away. /Whistling of a job well done. / Time will fade victims’ names/ and the pain of personal loss/ but the Maya have not forgotten the / meaning of their agony. / Genocide is the mother of the next war.

Earl uses the plain language “my Texas mother can understand.” He uses metaphors and rhyming sparingly. No matter where the poem takes place, it is underscored with a clear idea, image, and emotion, which paints a picture that will set the reader adrift on their journey.

American poetry--thrusts the reader directly into the subject, whether it be the blessing of rain on a thirsty desert cactus, or the grief of a soul destroyed by Guatemala’s Civil War. Earl’s uncluttered directness embodies what Thomas Merton, author of the spiritual classic The Seven Story Mountain said of his artist father: “His vision was religious and clean, and therefore his paintings were without decoration or superfluous comment since a religious man respects the power of God’s creation to bear witness for itself.”

Suzanne de Berge is the driving force and president of Seeds for a Future. A graduate of Antioch College, Suzanne combined her liberal arts education with interests in science, native cultures, and the natural world.

In 2004, Suzanne and Earl volunteered at a Pre-Classic Mayan archaeology site beneath the village of Chocolá, on the south coast of Guatemala. Working side-by-side with people from the modern-day town kindled their interest in helping their new friends have healthier and more prosperous lives.

Suzanne de Berge

One astute reader says: His economy of words--reminiscent of Asian and Native

Joined by other archaeology volunteers, in 2007, they formed Seeds for a Future, a U.S. non-profit. “Seeds” provides affordable and sustainable training to impoverished rural women in and around

Chocolá to improve family access to food and nutrition. According to Suzanne, “We knew that we wanted a self-help program for families. They could build their futures and create success using the skills and confidence gained through knowledge and experience.” As Seeds approaches the 15year mark, it is supported by contributions from individuals across the U.S. and beyond and is drawing attention from health and nutrition organizations in Central America. I found the food security component of the work timely since 47% of Guatemalan children are malnourished, with malnutrition increasing since 2015, according to the UN’s World Food Program. If that’s not bad enough, “stunting” among Guatemalan children is at one of the highest rates in the world.

of the community. Their training and experience as extensionist agents make them a vital community resource, coaching and mentoring families to become self-reliant and prosperous. Each year, a core of 12-20 families completes a 12-month training and mentoring program in each village. Many of these families share their new skills with family, friends, and neighbors, creating real and lasting change through knowledge and self-reliance in communities where many children face chronic malnutrition and where families once had limited options.

The de Berges are proud of the Seeds for a Future field team and their success in helping families build better lives.

A Vision is not achieved alone; there’s always a team.

A Vision is not achieved alone; there’s always a team.

I also appreciated that the program is staffed by local Guatemalans who are a part

Clelia Ixquiatap, Project Coordinator

For example, Clelia Ixquiatap, the Project Coordinator and a Senior Extensionist, received extensive nutrition training as part of the INCAP/Nestle project, which evaluated the Seeds for a Future program’s impact on local nutrition and health. Clelia was vital to transferring nutrition information to the study’s participants and continues in that role with today’s participating families.

The ethnic diversity of the communities they served also fascinated the de Berges, as it did me. Most of the area’s population is Maya Kaqchikel. However, in the 1880s German owners of Finca Chocolá, a cattle and coffee plantation, brought in workers from Quiché, resulting in an “island” of K’iche’ speakers in a sea of Kaqchikel.

So, in a few thousand years, you go from ancient Maya/Olmec to Maya Kaqchikel, and thanks to the Germans, to Maya Q’iche—all in the same community.

Enchanted by the gentle people, their culture, and a spectacular natural environment, Earl and Suzanne created a program that helps rural Guatemala families build better lives for themselves and their children. Earl’s poetry allowed him to express his insights on Guatemala in a most lyrical manner, while Suzanne expressed herself through her community-based programs.

As Earl and Suzanne reach their later years, they focus more on defining their legacy. This poem reflects how Earl puts their life’s work into perspective:

Earl

ALL JOYOUS FRIENDS All joyous friends we know in life will fade, for who can outpace the extinction mortals must face?

Death is a sequel to elude in pursuit of selfless works in life that we cherish until the knot of life unravels.

How can we help protect God’s exposition that is life in nature?

How can we make ourselves one with God?

Selfless charity without command are the joyous deeds not undone by death.

When we become one, our faults are nothing against the virtue of true charity in protecting nature.

You can find out more about the de Berges’ work at: seedsforafuture.org or purchase his book of poems at: cyberwit. net/publications/1830

Epic Equestrian Ride; The Future of the Peace Corps in Guatemala; Maya Gods & Monsters; The Making of the Kingdom of Mescal; Luis Argueta – Telling the stories of Guatemalan Immigrants; Luis Argueta: Guatemalan Filmmaker, Recipient of a Global Citizen Award; Traveling in Tandem with a Chapina; Victor Montejo’s Dream of a Secure Maya Community; and Traveling Through the Land of the Eternal Spring: A Literary Journey. The Solas competition awarded him the Bronze for “Best Travel Writing,” His new book, My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road, will be available in early June. He’s producing a documentary set in Guatemala, Trouble in the Highlands. His wife and three children were born in Guatemala.

Go to MillionMileWalker.com, write the author at Mark@MillionMileWalker.com or purchase his new book at Purchase here

About the author Mark D. Walker (MillionMileWalker.com) Mark Walker was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, 1971-1973, working on fertilizer experiments with small farmers in the Highlands.

Over the next 40 years, he managed or raised funds for many international groups, including Food for the Hungry, Make-A-Wish International, and as CEO of Hagar USA. He wrote about those experiences in Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond. He is a contributing writer for Literary Traveler and Revue Magazine: Uncovering the Art of Francisco Goldman, Tschiffely’s

“Earth Tones” by Thor Janson

1st Place Judges Vote “Chixoy River Expedition”

by Greg Schwendinger

Esquipulas by Daniel Iguardia